Toy



R. J. PARRISH TOY NOV. 28

Filed Nov. 1931 v 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

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INVENTOR NOV. 28, 1933. R PARRISH 1,937,162

TOY

Filed NOV. l5. 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR RAMMIPaAM/J R. J. PARRISH Nov. 28, 1933.

TOY

5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 16

INVENTOR MMP pcm/mit Patented Nov. 28,1933

. 'roY n N Russell J. yParrish, Richmond, Ind.; MaryfE...

Parrish administratrix of Parrish, deceased said Russell J Application November 16, 1931 Serial` No. 575,311

17 Claims. (Cl. 46-40) My invention relates to a toy that may be represented in the form of a human being or an animal and is characterized generally by its novel construction such, that when properly `disposed in a standing position for use von a substantially flat horizontal surface, gyratory and gravitational forces, independent of other forces, will act thereon to cause the same to somersault or lroll from a substantially upright position thru an inverted position and lthence to a prone position.

My invention is further characterized by providing in a toy ofthis type movable limbs and novel means for actuating said limbs at predetermined intervals in the somersaulting or rolling motion as affected bythe gyratory and gravitational forces to impart to said toy a further rolling motion. n f

A further characteristic of my invention resides in the provision in a toy of this type, a head adapted to move relative to theA body, of 'the toyv and means for actuating said head in a selected direction. f Y Y K A still further characteristic of my invention resides in having the means for actuating Ythe head and limbs of my novel toy entirely disposedwithin the body portion thereofand in providingV means for retaining said head andv limbs in a preset position, said retaining means being adapted to be released by a primary movement of said head during'the rolling movement oi said toy.

My invention ycontemplates as a further characteristic thereof the combination of a-.gureembodying my novel'construction and a diving platform of appropriate length with means, if desired, for suitably adjusting the height of saidV platform so that said figure when properly placed on the platform and acted upon by gyratory and gravitational `forces will effect a somersault in part or in whole on the platform, and Will continue somersaulting thru the air striking the water head first, feet first or any other desired position, and ending in a floating position with the forward ypart of the figure presenting up,- wardly.

In the drawings, which form a part of this specification and in which similar parts are designated by similar reference characters:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic View illustrating the diierent positions assumed by the toy as it is moved from a vertical position thru the inverted position and into a sitting position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional View thru 'the head and body taken on the line 2 2 on the vertically disposed iigure in Fig. 1.

Fig.. 3 is a vertical mid-section view talgen on line 3 3 of Fig. 2 showing the positions of the arms and legs in dotted outlinev for the seated position of the ligure.A

Fig. 4 is a sectional view thru theline 4 4 in Fig. 5,' showing the foot in the position that it 60, assumes when the ligure is'in the seated position.

Fig. 5 is a1 transverse sectional View thru the leg and foot on line 5 5 in Figs. 1 or 4.- Y Fig. 6 is a fractional sectional View .on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3, showing the arm trigger when the `65 head is set to Vturn to the left as seen in Fig. 1.

Fig. '7 is a fractional sectional VView taken on the line 7 7, of Fig. 3, showing the lower or leg trigger when the head is set to turn to the left.

Figs. 8 and 9 are views corresponding to views 70 6 and 7 respectively, vbut showing` the position of the trigger members when head is completely turned tothe left. f

Fig. 1G is a diagramillustrating the mechanics of the movement.

Fig. 1l is a diagrammatic view of the movemen-ts of'a diving iigure, embodying my invention as it is moved from a verticaly position on a diving` platform, thru the VYair Ainto the Water and in its iinalloating position, initial and nal positions .being shown in full line, intermediate positions being shown in dottedlines.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged View of the oating iig-ure, and

Fig. 13, is an enlarged sectional view on the 85 line 13 13 of Fig.Y 12, the ligure being disposed Vin a oating position.

The'head assembly consists of a head and neck lyrigidly attached to the verticalshaft 2 by a pin 3. An upper or arm trigger 4 is rigidly-at- 9o tached to the vertical shaft2 by .a pin 5,'Figs. 3 ando, a compression spring 6 and a Washer '7 being freely mounted on shaft 2, and disposed between the triggers anda support formed integral with each half of the body as hereinafter .described. The shaft is passedthru an opening in the support andinas attached :at its lower end a trigger 8, by means of a pin 9.. rI"he trigger .8 has a stem that constitutes 'ai bearing for the .shaft 2 and is received Within an opening formed be- 100 tween the two halves. It will thus be seen that the shaft is rotatably mounted between the halves of the body and `journalled at three spaced positions.

The body assembly is formed of two parts av left half 10 and a right half 11. These parts are held together by a screw 12 and are aligned by shoulder and hip shafts l5 and22 respectively. The left and right arms 13 and 14 are xedly attached t@ a shoulder shaft:y i5 `by pins 16l 16, 110

rnesvaez are no longer intercepted i=by trigger ridge '4'6 :and

51, respectively. fIt islthereforelimpossible for the leg 'lever'24 not to be properly lre'leaseddue to the motion of the legs being slower fthanit'hat of the arms, -said slower .motion 'being due to the longer radius of gyration fof the legs 'than that of the 'armsland 'due to thelg-reater velocit-yfof 'the feet to be decelerated .than the velocity of the hands `to Ibe accelerated. See middle solid outlline of Fig. 1.

I-Iip'shaft '22 has a screw :driver slot 53 at its lef-tend to permit initial stress lto ibe givenfspring :before the right 'leg 21 iis lpinned to .the shaft. The right leg holds the shaft against this #turning force 'while left leg 120 is attached.

The detail operationl of the :severally assen-lf bled parts of this `embodiment of my invention having `been explained, the `operation of the toy asa whole will now be-described:

In fthe standing position, Figs. l and the palms `of the hands, the undersides ofthe forearms, the liront Yof the body, the lfront of the legs and the 'top of tthe 'feet when yfrom the side,

Iform `the .arc of a circle. `The body, arms Aand head :are naturally heavier than the legs and lfeet, `but .the lcenters of `gravity and the radii of gyra'ti'on are further controlled by ima'king "the handsand arms vand the "feet of heavier lmaterials than thatof `the :body-head and legs. Assuming now, .that I.the toy has moved from the vertical or normal `standing position to a position .as .shown in Fig. 10, which is 'the vsarnerelative position as the third outline fromthe .right in Fig. l, P, the point of contact :of :the toy =or gure fwith the ground line GL, moves from the `toes to the tips of the fingers. Pis .also the instantaneous center of rotation of the outline. CandLC1a1'ethe instantaneousV centers of gravity of kthe `upper part and the lower partrespective'ly and although they move slightly With-the change -of P, they mayA be .a'ssuzfned :as 'practically constant Ibe'c'ause Aof the concentration of mass lat `or near those points.l 1R and R1 are'the instantaneous radii of gyration of points 1C :and '101 'about point P.. -R `decreases and R1 increases .as P `:moves vfrom right to left. V and V1 are the Vinstantaneous velocities ofip'oints C and C1 'respectively kabout `point P and V.:V1=R:R1.

It is diiiicult -to yshow a mathematicaldemonstration when all quantities are variables, but some 4'general statements .may serve to prove the principle. By the'physical flaws of motion, force varies asthe acceleration, and acceleration .varies `as the 'square lof the velocity, and in rotary motion Vacceleration also varies inversely with the radius. Therefore .in Fig. th'eiaccelerations .of C land C1 are increasing and fdecreasing respectively dueto the respective Ldecreaseand increase in radius of gyration, but .decreasing and increasing respectively due to the decrease and'incre'a'se `of velocity. kIi 'the massat'C and the mass at C1 were equal, the acceleration would alternately become equal and reverse and the ligure or toy would rock back and forth with decreasing amplitude as a rocking chair Vcoming to rest, but as the mass Yat :C is much 'greater than that at C1 'the force generated atA C is suiiicient to cause the Afigure torrock past dead `center as shown :by the middle solid outline, Fig. J., `before the counter force generated at C1 has increased sufficiently to bring the motion to rest.

In Figs. 1 'and 10, GL represents .the `ground line, Whereas,:in Figs. 2, 3 and 4,.GL1, GLz vand GLS represent the same positions of `the ground line relative to the outlines ofthe lrespective iig- V'ter part of the somersault.

-ures as that shown in right, .middle and .leftsolid outline respectively of Fig. 1. f

'Th'e lform having 'rocked and rotated to the fifth position `or middle solid outline of Fig. l, the head strikes the ground line as at GLz, Figs. 2 and '3 -and releases the triggers 4, 8, causing the arms, legs, feet-and head to act as above described. As explained before, the arms move more v'quickly than the .legs and as the elbows project behind the body, the arms thru the spring 1'8he1p lift tl'ie'back 'of the body to a sitting positientas shown in `the Vseventh position in Fig. 1. However, the major `:part of the Zforce 'causing thesittingfposition is due-to thelsuddenly in-Y creased acceleration of the feet due to 'their suddenly decreased radius of gyration, see 6th and lthpositionsfof Fig. l. The increased force generated lby this Aacceleration of the lighter lower portion is expended in lifting the heavier upper portion Ytoa sitting position and in bringing the ligure to rest.

The action of the feet relative to the legs .not vonly ladds 'to the lifelike appearance of ythe iigd ure but aids the action -of the somersault iirst, by increasing the height of the gure in the tiptoe standing position and thus increasing ythe radius of gyration of the upper portion of the gure during the rst part of the somersault and second, by. bringing the toes in and thus decreas ing Athe radius of gyration oi' the -feet inthe lat- The toy is reset by bending the legs down and back `as, iar as possible and bending the arms up and backfas far as possible, holding one arm and the body in one hand and with lthe iront vof the legs until the face is to the front. By releasing the pressure that holds the arms and legs back, the arm lever 17 will lit into either notch 47 .or 48 of the trigger 4. To change-the direction to which the head is to face, the arms are pressed 's `back suiiiciently to permit the head to turn and then turning head until the lever 17 is .felt yto engage with the other notch.

'The triggersetting may be made automatic vby 'eliminating the `feature of automatically turning -the'head If, in Fig. 3, the rear edge of the ridge of thef'upper trigger 4,k the front of the low- 'er vend of arms lever 17, the front of the ridge of trigger 8, and the rear Vof the lower end of leg lever 24 were beveled, moving the arms up and i back, andthe legs down and back simultaneous- Fly will :torce 'both triggers down ,against the thrust of Aspring 6 until both triggers are automatically set.

Figs. 11, 12 and 'i3 illustrate a further embodiment of my invention. In Ythis embodiment, the doll `or `diving iigure is rigid, .the upper portion 'being vheavier than the lower portion Yand the front of the outline is also an arc of a circle, all as in the first form of the invention; but, in addition, the doll must not only be capable of turning a somersault but Vto float in Water and its center of buoyancy and the center of gravity `so arranged that it will` float face up and with the face above the surface of the Water, as in Fig. i3. The hands and the feet may be spreadapart as in the rst forni, but preferably kshould be held vtogether Vcorresponding tothe attitude for diving, as shown in Fig. I2.

Referring to lFig. 1l, it will be seen that they diving doll, in solid outline, is positionedr on aV `platform 54, the `doll 'being 'shown'in dotted'outline in ya series of attitudes or positions as it makes a forward somersault on the platform, leaving the platform feet irst, a forward .somersault in the air and enteringy the water head rst and at such an angle as to cause a backward somersault under water, emerging head rst and ending by Floating on its back face up. The platform 5ft is slidably mounted on the upright support 56 which is fitted with a weighted base 57 which may set on the edge of a wading pool as indicated in ll or on the bottoni of the pool or of a shallow vessel of water. The height of ther divingplatforni above the surface of the water is adjustable to accor-v nodate the variation in the height of the and to permit any number of somersaults in one dive, a deiinte additional height beingreduired for 'each rotation in `the air, the vertical adjustment oi platform 54 on support 56 being fixed by a clamp screw 52. The initial position-for each. dive is standing on tip toe with both toes pressed back against shoulder 59 of the platform w b. the tips of the fingers touching the upright si ort 56. rin this position the center of gravity of the doll is just forward of the v tical plane thru the toes so that when restraint is removed the doll will-tip forward. rEhe plat-f .un is p ovided with a short end so that when the doll is positionedv thereon the ive is the same as the first except the initial somersault on the plattform is eliminated, the figure tilting forward head first from the short end Vof the platform.

The invention is not to be limited to contours or mechanical details except as restricted by the appended claims. Compressionsprings or tension springs or rubber bands may be used instead of torsion springs, as illustrated in my first embodiment and the doll may be made of any solid material; tie diving doll may be made of any material, preferably rubber, that will not deteriorate rapidly in water and which v ll permit the doll to float. Candy, chewing gum., cake or other vfood product mateA l. ls may be used. The somersaulting toy may be sold as a food product or confection. y

I claim:

l, A som rsaulting body representing a iigure substantially symmetrical relative to its longitudicenter plane and of substantially convex front outline from end to end, said body having its upper end por! on heavier than the lower end portion so that wl n ir an upright position, with respect to a substant' `y horizontal plane, with its center of gravity slightly in advance of the'vertical, said'body will automatically move forward and pass thru an inverted position thereof.

2. A somersaulting body representing a figure comprising a body portion and liinbs fixed to opposite ends thereof, said body and limbs presentin longitudinally extended posi on an arcuate front, the upper end'portion of said gure being heavier than the lower end portion, so that when in upright position with respect to a substantially horizontal plane, with its center of gravity slightly in advance of the vertical, the same will be moved forward and pass'thru an inverted position by gravitational and gyratory forces.

Y3. A somersaulting body representing a ngure comprising a body portion and movable limbs fixed thereto, said body and limbs presenting in longitudinal extended position thereof, a substantiallyarcuate front, said gure having its upper end'portion heavier than its lower end portion for causing the same to be moved-forward vfrom a substantially upright position with respect to a substantially horizontal plane and pass thru an inverted upright position when acted on by gravitational and gyratoryforces and means for actuating said limbs during said movement to eifect a further movement of said iigure into another advanced position.

e. A somersaulting body representing a figure comprising a body portion and movable limbs fixed thereto, said body and limbs presenting in longitudinally extended position thereof, a substantially arcuate front, said gure being adapted tc pass thru an inverted upright position from its normal Vposition and means for actuatingsaid limbs during said movement to effect a further movement of said figure into another advanced position. l

5. A body representing aV ngure comprising a body portion, ahead and'limbs presenting in longitudinally extended position thereof a substantially arcuate front, Said body portion and limbs being pivotably connected' together and said gure having its upper end portion heavier than its lower end portion for causing the same to be moved forward from a substantially verticle position thereof, with respect to a substantially horizontal plane and pass thru an inverted upright position when acted on by gravitational and gyratory forces and including means for actuating said limbs during said movement to effecta further movement ofi said figure into another advanced position on said surface.

6. A somersaulting body representing -a gure comprising a bodyportion', a head and limbs, presenting in longitudinally extended position thereof a substantially arcuate front, said body portion and limbs being pivotably connected together and said head being mounted for rotation relative to said body, said gure having its upper endportion heavier than its lower end portion, for causing'the same when moved forward ,from a substantially vertical position thereof, on a substantially horizontal surface, to pass thru an inverted position, means for actuating said limbs during said movement to effect a further `movement of said iigure into another ,advanced position on said surface and means controlled by said actuating means, for rotating said head relative to said body.V

7. A body representing a figureV comprising a body portion and movable limbs attached thereto, said body and limbs presenting in longitudinally extended position thereof a substantially arcuate iront, said gure having its upperV end portion heavier than its lower end portion for causing the saine to be moved forwardy from a substantially upright position and pass lthru an inverted upright position when acted on bygravitational and gyratory forces and means entirely disposed within the outline of said body for actu*- ating said limbs during. said movement to eiect a further movement of said figure into another advanced position.

S. A body representing a body portion, and a head connected to said body portion, said head and body portion being mounted orfrelative rotational movement, said figure presenting in longitudinal dimensions a substantially arcuate front and being so constructed and arrangedthat when tipped forward from its vertical position of balance on a horizontal surface said figure will be acted on by gravitational and figure comprising a iis gyratory forces to cause the same to move thru an inverted position and means for effecting said relative movement, said means being adapted to be actuated by a relative linear movement of said head and body.

9. A body representing a figure comprising 'a body portion and a head connected to said body portion` and mounted for linear and angular movement relative thereto, said gure being adapted to be acted on by gravitational and gyratory forces, to cause the same to move thru an inverted position and means operable by said linear movement for effecting said angular movement relative to said body. Y

10. A body representing a iigure comprising a body portion and a head connected to saidbody portion and mounted for linear and angular movement relative thereto, said figure being adapted to be acted on by gravitational and gyratory forces, to cause the same to move thru an inverted position and spring means operable for rotating said head relative to said body and means adapted to -be released `by the relative linear movement of said head and body for setting said springs means into operation.

11. A body representing a figure comprising a l body portion, and a head connected to said .body

Yoo

portion, said head and body portion being mounted for relative rotational movement, said figure presenting in longitudinal dimensions a substantially arcuate front and being so constructed and arranged that when tipped forward from its vertical position of balance-on a horizontal surface said ligure will be acted on by gravitational and gyratory forces to cause the same to move thru an inverted position and means for rotating said head about its axis during said last mentioned movement and means for presetting said first mentioned means to obtain a predetermined direction of rotation of said head.

12. In combination with a figure adapted to advance from a vertical position thru an inverted position, said gure having a body portion and a head movable connected thereto, of means movable with said gure and connected to said head for actuating the same independent of said iirst mentioned movement and means for presetting the direction of movement of said head.

13. A body representing a figure having its center of gravity above its geometrical center comprising a body portion and limbs rotatably connected to the upper and lower ends of said body portion, said limbs being movable in opposite di.- rections and presenting With said `body portion in their extreme outer positions a substantially arcuate front means for maintaining said limbs in their extreme position means for releasing said limbs and means for actuating said limbs in opposite directions whereby when said iigure is positioned slightly forwardA of a substantially vertical position gravitational and gyratory forces will cause the same to pass thru an inverted upright position and intoa sitting position.

14. A bodyrepresenting a figure having its center of gravity above its longitudinal center and being adapted to advance from a vertical position thru an inverted position and thence into a seated position comprising a body portion, limbs pivotably connected to opposite ends of said body portion, means disposed Within said body portion for actuating said limbs in opposite directions, trigger means for releasably holding said limbs in substantially arcuate alignment; a head slideably connected to said body portion and adapted to be rotated about its longitudinal axis, said head cooperating With said trigger means to re- 4lease the same when said body is in the inverted position, and means adapted to rotate said head in the inverted position thereof. Y

15. A somersaulting body representing a figure comprising` a body, arms and legs attached t0 said body at the ends thereof, said legs having feet jointed thereto at the ankle and being so constructed and arranged to form an arcuate Vfront outline, that is a continuation of the front outline of said body and arms, and means ior releasably holding said feet fixed with respect to said body.

16. A somersaulting body representing a gure comprising a body, arms and legs attached to said body at `the ends thereof, said legs having feet Vjoined thereto at the ankle and being so lconstructed and arranged to `form an arcuate front outline, that is a contination of the front outline of said body and arms, means for holding said feet iixed with respect to said body portion in the normal position thereof, and means for actuating said feet during the somersaulting of said gure. Y

17. A somersaulting body representing a figure comprising a body, arms and legs attached t0 said body at theends thereof, saidl legs having members joined theretosat the ankle and being so constructed Vand arranged to form anarcuate front outline, that is a continuation of the front outline of said body and arms, means for releasably holding said armsand leg members fixed with respect to said body portion in the normal position thereof, and means for actuating said arms-and leg members duringA the somersaulting of said ligure. l

RUSSELL J. PARRISI-I. 

